GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney ostensibly went to London in recent days to show American voters his skills in foreign diplomacy.

Instead, he put his foot in his mouth in a big way when he criticized British Olympics preparations — calling them “disconcerting” — and suggested that many Londoners may opt to skip the games.

British Prime Minister David Cameron apparently was not amused.

“We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere,” an apparent reference to Salt Lake City, which hosted the winter Olympics that Romney oversaw.

Romney later tried to walk back the comments, saying he expected the games to be “highly successful” and that would become evident once the athletes take center stage.

Nevertheless, the British press pounced. The Telegraph published a commentary piece by Alex Spillius with this introduction: “Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive.”

A recent and little-noted political development offers a ray of hope
for the future of Iraq. A draft resolution being circulated in the
Security Council of the United Nations by the United States and Britain
proposes a greatly expanded political role for the U.N. in Iraq to try
to heal the sectarian divide in that country. This is a sign that the
administration is beginning to realize the advantages of a less
unilateral approach to foreign policy, as exemplified by the recent
statements of the new U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad. Read more…

Given the history and track record of this administration, does anyone besides me suspect that the current developments between Great Britain and Iran are basically a deliberate set-up job on our part designed to give us an excuse to attack Iran? It certainly is convenient. Remember the Gulf of Tonkin events in 1965? I wonder what will come out years in the future about what is going on now.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

Posts by Category

Posts by Category

Idea Log Archives

Idea Log Archives

About The Idea Log

The idea log The Denver Post editorial board shares commentary and opinion on issues of interest to Coloradans.